Holy Land and Egypt

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Today was a rainy and chilly day which makes it very difficult to take pictures. You must realize that many of the pictures I take are taken out the window of a moving bus....not the idea setting for picture taking. Today was really tough because when the rain did stop the bus windows were dirty.

Our first stop was at the marker that showed Sea Level. We were headed to the Dead Sea which is the lowest place on earth so we had a photo op at the Sea level marker. We headed on down toward the Dead sea but first visited the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist called Qasr el Yehud. It was interesting because it was in what is known as no mans land. It was near the border of Jordan but out of the control of Israel. Interestingly enough the first thing I saw was a barbed wire fence with signs that read "Warning Land Mines".,,,,no desire to cross that fence! We read scripture and ahd the opportunity to reaffirm our baptism. It was a very touching service. We also had a group photo taken. Then the rain started again!

Our next stop was Jericho...the oldest continuously occupied city in the world....also the lowest at 1300 below sea level. We got to see the sycamore tree that Zacchaeus might have climbed and we visited the archaeological digs of the city of Jericho. We had a great lunch at another family run restaurant and gift shop.

From Jericho we went to Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. There is also an archaeological site there and you can view the caves in the mountains where some of the scrolls were found.

From Qumran we went on to the Dead Sea so some brave souls could float. I was not one of them as it was too chilly and windy. There were big waves this time...quite different from when I visited before when the sea was calm.

Before returning to the hotel our last stop was to let people ride a camel which we found along the road from the Dead Sea. It was fun to see the reaction of each person when the camel got up....you feel like you are going to fall off!

Even though we were tired we went to the Sound and Light show at the old part of the city. It was a beautiful history of Jerusalem told in song and scenes projected on the walls of the old city. I must say this is about the most tired I have been on this trip so it is off to bed early for this old gal. Good night!

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